I have two apps (each with iOS and Mac versions) where people add items that appear in a list. Currently when an item is deleted from the list, it is permanently and immediately removed. I'm working on adding something that's usually referred to as either an "Archive" or "History", so that older items can be looked up and restored if necessary. The tricky part is that I would like to have features of both:
- By default, it will act like a true archive. Nothing is deleted, just archived and removed from the main view. I expect most people will leave it this way.
- However, I'd like to have an option to automatically clear out the archive after a period of time—a year, 6 months, or 90 days. This makes it a bit more like a "history", since it's no longer permanent.
- When an item is removed from the main view, I'd prefer to have the button say "Archive" rather than "Delete". It should be clear that these items aren't permanently deleted. (At least not immediately.)
My worry is that someone will set it to clear after 90 days, forget about it, "Archive" something important to them, and then get frustrated when it's suddenly gone months later.
Is there any way I can address this? Or is it possible I'm worrying too much?
Currently I'm leaning toward removing the option to automatically clear out the archive. It would still be possible to manually delete specific items from the archive, or clear the entire archive manually. I'd prefer not to lose that option though—I think some people would appreciate it.